Gleison Bremer has consistently delivered for Juventus but never seems to get proper recognition for his work.
The Italian giants haven’t won the Serie A since 2019/20, but their defensive record has always been strong since the Brazilian joined in 2022.
For perspective, Bremer is already 29 years old and has only made eight international appearances for Brazil in his career. That’s despite constantly anchoring a solid defence in one of Europe’s top five leagues.
He did make Carlo Ancelotti’s World Cup squad in North America – and also featured in the 2022 edition in Qatar. But the Italian has not selected him for Brazil’s friendlies in the upcoming international break.
The idea is to start fresh after yet another disappointing and early exit – this time at the hands of Norway in the round of 16. As a result, Ancelotti called up 11 players from the Brazilian league – a record since he took over. Premier League youngsters Jair (Nottingham Forest, 21) and Vitor Reis (Manchester City, 20) got the nod. As well as Athletico Paranaense’s Arthur Dias, who has been a revelation at just 19 years of age.
Still, Bremer will be 33 in the 2030 World Cup, which, nowadays, could basically represent his peak. So there should be space for him – even as a third option behind Arsenal‘s Gabriel Magalhaes and Paris Saint-Germain‘s Marquinhos. Maybe even a three-at-the-back set featuring all of them, something that no manager in charge of Brazil has tried in recent memory.
Bremer has started the season in fine form with Juve seventh in Serie A, just three points behind leaders Roma.
What makes Gleison Bremer one of the best and most underappreciated defenders in the world?
Goalscoring threat
What stands out the most actually does not have much to do with Bremer’s position. The imposing centre-back makes his presence known going forward.
Bremer has scored more headed goals (12) than any other defender in Europe’s top five leagues since joining Juventus in 2022/23. Not only that, but he also leads all Serie A defenders in goals scored (24) since arriving in Italy in 2018/19, including his four-year spell at Torino.
This number also puts him first in the all-time ranking of Brazilian defenders in Serie A history.
This season, he has already scored twice in six appearances, good enough to lead the Vecchia Signora in the league alongside winger Edon Zhegrova. And, you guessed it, they were both headers from corners.
Bremer has also pitched in with his passing, creating five chances in five Serie A games so far. Only Roma’s Mario Hermoso has created more chances among central defenders (6).
Solid defensively
Now onto his main responsibilities, Bremer is a fine defender. He has already played on the left, on the right and in the centre of defence in three, four and five-at-the-back formations during his time at Juventus.
The Brazilian excels at being aggressive, taking steps forward rather than sitting deep and defending the box, clearing crosses out. He reads the game extremely well – for perspective, out of the 112 defenders that have played 100+ games in the Serie A since 2018/19, he ranks sixth in interceptions per game (1.9).
But he can do the more ‘traditional’ stuff as well. In that same list of 112 players, he ranks ninth in clearances per game (3.9). The only other defenders to feature in the top-10 in both rankings are Omar Colley and Mattia Bani.
His aggressiveness ends up taking a toll on the ground duel success rate. Bremer ranks 16th out of 112 in fouls committed per game since joining Italy (1.3).
Though he has won 60% of his ‘true tackles’, which considers every outcome of attempted tackles, including tackles made and won, fouls committed and times dribbled past.
Bremer has also not been dribbled past more than 0.3 times a game over his last six Serie A campaigns, featuring all five for Juventus (including the current one) and his final season at Torino.
Juve losing their magic, so to speak, has certainly contributed to Bremer not being as known as he could in European football. But the Vecchia Signora have averaged under one goal conceded per game in every full season he has been at Juventus Stadium. This means their biggest problems over the past few years lie elsewhere.
| Season | Goals conceded per game | Serie A rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2026/27* | 0.80 | 4th |
| 2025/26 | 0.89 | 3rd |
| 2024/25 | 0.92 | 2nd |
| 2023/24 | 0.82 | 2nd |
| 2022/23 | 0.86 | 3rd |
Bremer might not ever get the recognition he deserves, but will keep doing his thing regardless.